Abstract: As the first Asian American theater founded in 1965, East West Players and its history provide valuable account of Asian Pacific
American experience. The collection spans 1965 to 1992 and includes administrative files, financial records, and production
related files consisting of scripts, photographic material, programs, publicity, sound recordings and videos.

Audio and moving image materials in this collection are restricted and require advance notice for use.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Performing Arts Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of East West Players, 1992.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], East West Players Records (Collection 115). Performing Arts Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, UCLA.

Biography

The East West Players theater company (EWP), located in Los Angeles, CA, was founded in 1965. EWP provides Asian Pacific actors,
writers, directors, and producers a forum for presenting their unique works from an Asian-Pacific-American perspective, with
productions ranging from traditional Asian theater forms to the Asian American experience to mainstream drama and musical
theater. The founders of EWP include artistic directors Mako, Rae Creevey, James Hong, June K. Lu, Guy Lee, Pat Li, Yet Lock,
Soon-Tek Oh, and Beulah Quo. EWP's second artistic director, Nobu McCarthy, who served from 1989 to 1993, encourged the participation
and inclusion of non-Asian actors in the theater group. The third and current artistic director, Tim Dang, started his appointment
in 1993.

As the first Asian American theater company in the United States, the foundation of EWP was a response to the lack of roles,
especially authentic ones, for Asian American actors. Its original purpose statement indicated that "The East West Players
departed somewhat from all the traditional Hollywood formulas, for the company shaped new and compelling images of its own
and addressed a variety of problems connected with the Asian/Pacific American community and the art of theater."

Rashomon, the first production of EWP premiered on April 3, 1965 at the University of Southern California. During it's early
years, the company staged Asian and European classics, and rehearsed and held workshops at Bethany Presbyterian Church while
searching for potential Asian American playwrights. In 1972, EWP moved to 4424 Santa Monica Boulevard, where it began its
children's theatre tours and provided a base to stage original works by artistic talents such as Wakako Yamauchi, Momoko Iko,
Dom Magwili, Jon Shirota, and Perry Miyake Jr.

EWP expanded its outreach to immigrant communities with bilingual tours and musical theatre following the success of the production
Pacific Overtures. EWP relocated in 1998 to the former site of Union Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood known as Little
Tokyo where it still resides.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of production material, administrative files, and business and financial records, related to the East
West Players theater company (EWP). The production material includes scripts, photographs, reviews, publicity material, sound
recordings, videos, and a small amount of correspondence, financial records, and box office reports pertaining to EWP productions.
The administrative records contains administrative files, board of director minutes, and newsletters. The business and financial
records include files documenting grant applications with multiple foundations and/or organizations as well as general information
about season budgets, donations, insurance, and ledgers.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:

Series 1. Administrative Records

Series 2. Business and Financial Records

Series 3. Correspondence and Research Materials

Series 4. Publicity, Development and Special Events

Series 5. Productions

Series 6. Tours

Series 7. (Summer) Workshops

Series 8. Script Submissions

Series 9. Photographs, Slides, Video Tapes

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.